


Alien

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Character Study, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-11
Updated: 2020-01-11
Packaged: 2021-02-27 07:28:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22203361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: On the way to their scheduled filming with Glamour, Taeyong and Doyoung have a disagreement over their answers for the friendship test.
Relationships: Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong
Comments: 9
Kudos: 117





	Alien

[TAEYONG and DOYOUNG are sitting in the backseat of their van. They are currently traveling to their scheduled filming with Glamour, where they would be asked to talk about their friendship in pairs and act out 19 emotions. TAEYONG and DOYOUNG are going over the answers they've individually prepared for the interview questions. TAEYONG has just read to DOYOUNG the heartfelt things he had to say about their meeting and their relationship.]

** TAEYONG **

How’s that?

** DOYOUNG **

…mm.

You don’t really have to share that much.

[TAEYONG looks up.]

** TAEYONG **

Am I over-sharing?

[DOYOUNG runs his hands down his face. He nods.]

**DOYOUNG**

Yeah.

** TAEYONG **

Really...I don’t think so though? 

What did you write?

[DOYOUNG hands him the note pad in his hands.]

** DOYOUNG **

Here. 

This is almost comical next to yours, considering you just gave a speech.

[In the dim light of the car, TAEYONG squints at the sparse lines of words written down on DOYOUNG's note pad.]

** TAEYONG **

You’ve said nothing! 

** DOYOUNG **

What do you mean?

** TAEYONG **

This is what you already say all the time.

There's nothing new or creative here.

** DOYOUNG **

That’s fine, isn’t it?

**TAEYONG**

Ah, why...I put so much effort into it.

** DOYOUNG **

That's why I said you're over-sharing.

**TAEYONG**

No, I think it's _you_ who didn't share anything with nutritional value.

[DOYOUNG doesn't respond. He sighs long and deep, runs a hand repeatedly through his hair.]

**TAEYONG**

Is everything okay?

**DOYOUNG**

I don’t know. 

I'm just not feeling up to this right now, honestly. 

I don’t think I can take this seriously right now.

** TAEYONG **

Ahh, why are you like this...

It's a good chance, isn't it?

I thought we could both say something valuable about each other, I really thought hard about it.

** DOYOUNG **

Sorry.

That's all I got today.

[TAEYONG sighs.]

** TAEYONG **

You can be so meticulous about conveying yourself sometimes, and then other times you’re not even trying.

** DOYOUNG **

It depends on the type of information I'm conveying.

This is...too personal.

I really think you don’t have to be that honest just because they’re asking you to be.

** TAEYONG **

Why? 

I thought you wanted to be honest.

Didn't we talk about this?

**DOYOUNG**

Yeah, I do want to be honest.

But only with certain kinds of thoughts I have, and only to an extent. 

There's always a line, isn't there?

Beyond that, I don't particularly want to share.

** TAEYONG **

Really? I don’t feel that way.

I don't draw a line the way you do.

I don't try to control what--

** DOYOUNG **

Because you don’t feel like you have anything to protect. 

You’re comfortable being entirely transparent to the world, you seek it, to you that’s the way to feel a genuine connection.

** TAEYONG **

That's not true...I have things to protect, too.

These things I wrote aren't things I would just tell people for no reason.

It took a lot of courage to come up with them.

I thought...I thought you would do the same.

** DOYOUNG **

Yeah, but...

To you, the safest way to protect something is by entrusting it to the world.

You trust the world to be gentle with this knowledge, you trust it won't hurt you with it.

Lee Taeyong the person and Lee Taeyong the artist are one.

It's not like that for me.

Doyoung is a certain way. Kim Dongyoung is another way.

** TAEYONG **

It's not easy to be transparent, you know?

I think you still lack the courage.

**DOYOUNG**

Say what you want about it.

I just can't do it.

Not the way you want me to.

** TAEYONG **

I don't get it.

Why try so hard to control your image? 

Just let go. 

Be yourself.

If you always police your representation, then how can you ever be truly known?

** DOYOUNG **

I don’t want to be known, I’m not comfortable with that.

** TAEYONG **

What?

** DOYOUNG **

Hyung, you...

You know how I am.

Don't you?

I'm...I'm honestly a little hurt you don't understand this about me.

** TAEYONG **

I...I don't understand.

You said you wanted to be more honest this year.

And next year, forever from now, you said you wanted to take the reins and control how you represent yourself.

You told me that.

** DOYOUNG **

Honest doesn't equal transparent.

And that's exactly what I'm doing, hyung.

[DOYOUNG sighs. He feels mildly exhausted.]

**DOYOUNG**

Look, t here are things I don’t want to be public. 

Things that belong to me only. 

How we really met.

What we've gone through together back then.

How we got this close now.

The things I like most about you.

These are some of the things that belong to me, to us only.

I don’t want people to know and people don’t need to know.

Maybe you're comfortable with revealing things like 'Doyoung has a kind heart and changed me as a person', but I'm not comfortable having that kind of information about me revealed.

Do you get what I mean?

** TAEYONG **

Yeah, I get it.

But I don't know how to act when you say that. 

I don't know what to say instead.

** DOYOUNG **

Just say something that's...I don't want to say 'generic', but that's what it is.

I'm just going to say we're close and love each other and care about each other.

That's not a lie.

Withholding information isn’t dishonesty.

** TAEYONG **

I guess.

You’re not lying but you’re not exactly telling the truth, either.

** DOYOUNG **

I am, I’m representing it in a different way. 

So long as they understand the essence, why do details matter?

** TAEYONG **

Because details make it real?

I want to be honest.

I think we have a beautiful friendship and I want to share it.

** DOYOUNG **

Please, hyung.

There's are parts of our relationship I want to show the world, and there are parts I don't.

I need that distinction to feel sane.

To feel like I still have something of my own left, beyond everything I give to the camera.

[TAEYONG is silent. He thinks hard.]

**DOYOUNG**

Besides, don't you think our actions speak louder than words?

People should be able to understand what it's like from our actions already.

They can fill in the blanks.

[TAEYONG sighs. He closes his note pad and rubs the bridge of his nose.]

**TAEYONG**

Okay.

I get it.

So this isn't happening, huh?

[TAEYONG waves his notes, shaking his head.]

** TAEYONG **

All these nice things, everything I wrote...

** DOYOUNG **

Don't do it, please.

I'm really grateful you think so many sweet things about me and our friendship.

But it would give me immense stress if you told me I had to come up with something that matches everything you've written within the next 15 minutes in this car.

** TAEYONG **

You don't have to.

Forget it.

I'll change my answer.

** DOYOUNG **

Thank you.

[DOYOUNG lets out a long sigh he had been holding.]

** TAEYONG **

I feel very stuck.

Like I don't know how to tread this line of yours.

I thought we agreed on this, but once again it seems our understandings of the same thing are different.

**DOYOUNG**

Yeah, I get it.

We can talk more about this later but I really don't want to do this right now.

Can you just promise me you won't-- 

Read that.

**TAEYONG**

Fine.

[TAEYONG brushes DOYOUNG's arm.]

**TAEYONG**

Will you be fine later?

** DOYOUNG **

I'm fine.

Just--

Tired.

Kind of baffled.

Wish I could catch some sleep for ten minutes.

[TAEYONG watches DOYOUNG, trying to judge his state of being through his expressions, but the light in the car is too dim for him to make it out.]

** TAEYONG **

Is it that important to you?

This line of privacy of yours, you really won't  let it go?

** DOYOUNG **

Maybe some day. 

But not right now. 

I can’t do this right now.

** TAEYONG **

It makes you that uncomfortable?

** DOYOUNG **

Yeah, it makes me uncomfortable.

** TAEYONG **

Ok, I get it.

I won't say too much.

** DOYOUNG **

Hyung, I don’t know what that means.

Can you just promise to do it normally?

Just relax.

It's not a confession.

** TAEYONG **

Yeah, I will. 

Don’t be anxious anymore.

** DOYOUNG **

Then let me sleep.

* * *

[ ** NCT 127 Takes a Friendship Test | Glamour ** ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nyst1bT1L7Y)

Taeyong about Doyoung:

Our relationship is...a little awkward right now. 

We’re still working very hard on understanding each other.

*laughs*

Actually, our relationship is very close to the point where we are frank with each other and can joke about a lot of things together.

We give each other a lot of feedback.

Out of the members' relationships, the two of us have interesting chemistry. 

Our relationship is good to the point where there are rumors about it.

Doyoung about Taeyong:

Right now my relationship with Taeyong hyung is very strong. 

It’s strong, and we care for each other and love each other. 

Yes.

I can curse without hesitation around him, that’s how close we are.

Taeyong about Doyoung:

My friendship with Doyoung is…we will be best friends in 10 years.

*smiles*

the end

**Author's Note:**

> [twitter](https://twitter.com/yongpoetry)   
> 


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